I’m not entirely sure why I keep booking myself in for Afternoon Tea. My favourite dishes are savoury – I’m far less keen on sweet foods. In a Traditional English Afternoon Tea, the various courses offer the very opposite of these preferences. There will be a few delicate sandwiches and perhaps an additional savoury pastry or canapé but the star attractions are the scones – with obligatory clotted cream and jam – and a selection of unctuous cakes. So why do I keep going back for more? I have a feeling the explanation has something to do with the tradition, the ‘ritual’, the theatre of Afternoon Tea.

The tradition had very modest beginnings, born of a practical need. Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford reputedly found it difficult to endure the gap between daily meals (dinner not being served until around 8pm) and I can certainly identify with that problem! Her solution was to request that tea, bread and butter and cakes be brought to her at around 4pm. The Duchess, having established her own habit, began to invite friends to join her for this light meal. This all started in the 1840s and by the 1880s it had become fashionable not only for the food but as a social event.

So, in summary, there is more to this meal than ‘just’ the food! Afternoon Tea is served in a variety of establishments, from tiny country tea shops to the grandest of hotels. Some will hold to the finest detail of tradition while some establishments offer more contemporary innovations. You may take your Tea whilst enjoying the conversation of your companions or you may choose to be serenaded by a pianist, harpist or a string quartet if you choose a ‘Palm Court’ type of setting. This is not just a meal, it’s an event.

As I stepped out of The Capital Hotel and onto Basil Street in London’s Knightsbridge, I remembered why it is that I keep on going for Afternoon Tea: because it is wonderful!

Read the full review of Afternoon Tea at The Capital Hotel under “Reviews” and choose “London” from the drop-down list.